Customers eager to pay low amounts for stuffed animals mobbed Build-A-Bear Workshop stores across the United States, Canada and Great Britain Thursday, including at Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville.

Citing an “unprecedented response” to its “Pay Your Age Day” event, Build-A-Bear closed lines for the promotion at all of its U.S. stores Thursday morning, the company said.

“Per local authorities, we cannot accept additional guests at our U.S. Build-A-Bear Workshop locations due to crowd and safety concerns,” Build-A-Bear said in a notice Thursday, just hours after the company had started the event.

“We have closed lines in our U.S. stores. We understand some of our guests are disappointed and we will reach out directly as soon as possible.”

Coral Ridge Mall posted about the event on its Facebook page Thursday morning, copying a similar post from Build-A-Bear.

“Due to the overwhelming response, Build-A-Bear Workshop has closed the lines for the Pay Your Age promotion. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please direct all inquiries to Build-A-Bear Workshop by calling 1-877-789-2327,” the mall wrote.

BBC News reported similar crowded stores on its website. It quoted the company as saying customer response as “overwhelming and unprecedented.”